NAMBA Propwash 04-2023 Web.pub

PROPWASH April 2023 17 You have read about them. Now you get to see them. PJ Foster and Jim Foster from the London Bridge Model Boat Club The Insane Boats Camp. Steve Lopez, Roger Pane, Henry Velasco, and Richard Sekigawa in the background Wet, Definitely Wet, Yeah… By Dave Rychalsky NAMBA Historian Chairman For most of us, keeping water or moisture out of the radio box in all of your boats, is an ongoing challenge. I know what you are going to say “My radio box is always dry. I never have water in it.” Well, you can hop up on your arid soap box and boast that BS to everyone, but we all know, sooner or later your boat is going to be upside down during a heat race, and when it gets back to shore, there’s water inside the radio box. For some, it might just be a drop or two, but for others, it could be completely filled up. I flipped my Sport Hydro during a race last season and when it was retrieved, half of the box had water in it. I immediately thought I forgot to add tape to the access port for the battery charge cable, but that wasn’t it. When I brought the boat back to my table, I noticed the rudder bellows seal was torn, leaving a quarter inch opening for water to enter. Now, the first thing I did was replace the seal and glued it soundly into the side of the box. Then I tested it by filling the entire boat with water. Looks good. However, there is another factor to be concerned about – residual moisture inside the box. If you have foam or paper towels to soak up any water, they need to be removed and replaced. Paper towels are fine, but they are not the optimum method of soaking up water. I went out and picked up a box of Tampons, and dropped two of them inside my radio boxes. When dry, they are roughly the size of a .50 caliber bullet. You need to toss out the 2-piece plastic shell and just keep the cotton part. There’s an eight inch string attached, but you can cut that off. (I’m a bit perplexed why that string is only 8” long, but then I thought about it and…. !). If you have a clear Lexan lid, you can quickly notice if there’s water inside the radio box, because the Tampon will expand like Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn. If so, there’s a leak. (Some foam may absorb the water but it’s hard to tell if it’s actually wet). Once there’s condensation inside the box, remove the tape from the lid, find the leak, and replace the Tampon(s). By the way guys, did you know that many women hide their secret money inside their Tampon box in the medicine cabinet. Women know guys don’t go there! So, if you want a new prop for your Gas Thunderboat, ya just might find some extra greenbacks in your medicine cabinet! Where was I, oh yeah, another good method to absorb water is using a sponge. You can take any new sponge from the kitchen sink, wet it, ring it out and squish it under a heavy flat weight, like a 12 volt lead-acid battery. After a week, the sponge will be 1/8 inch thick, so you can place inside the rear left side of your radio box. If water enters the box, it will settle back in that end and cause the sponge puff up and grow back to its original shape. There isn’t a question if you have a leak, you’ve got a problem! And, you can cut the sponge to any shape when it’s bone-dry. Many of the servo manufacturers state that their servos are water proof. Well, maybe, but over time, water is getting inside from some void. It could be that microscopic “O” ring between the top and bottom case or the rubber grommet for the connector wire. Now, after a day at the pond, always, always, always remove the tape from the battery access hole and allow the inside of the radio box to “breath”. Even if it appears dry! I picked up some cheap aquarium air pumps for $8.00 each, and I run an air hose from the pump thru the access hole in the lid and into the back of the radio box. I keep the pump on for two days and it circulates the air inside nicely. Face it, anytime you have moisture in a confined enclosure, there’s going to be some type of mold or fungus growing.